Clydebank radio ham helped to win back the Falklands

ARMED with a shortwave radio in a room in his Clydebank home, he was Britain’s secret weapon in the Falklands war.

Les Hamilton was the amateur radio operator who told the British government the islands had been invaded and the only person in Britain to be in regular radio contact with islanders during the Argentinian occupation.

He was the vital link through which details of enemy troop movements and the success of RAF bombing raids were fed back to the Ministry of Defence.

The information he provided was considered so important to the success of the war that within minutes his information was relayed to the task force in the South Atlantic.

Yet until now Hamilton’s role has been a closely guarded secret, known only by senior British politicians, military intelligence officers and a select band of amateur radio enthusiasts.

With just weeks to go before he and his wife Pilar are due to fly out to the Falklands for the 20th anniversary celebrations of the liberation, Hamilton has told Scotland on Sunday of the excitement and fear of being the only outside link for islanders during the dark days of the 1982 occupation.

Hamilton is one of just 16 people to be invited by the Falkland Islands government.Read more  HERE